Hey all, it's been a while since I posted anything on the message boards so here is a quick update.

First and foremost - If you want to talk to me about anything to do with Relock, questions or anything you can catch me on Twitter

Now for the update.
I've been working on Relock for about a year and a half now, the entire game is made by myself.

Recently I've been working heavily on weapon customisation ( I'm a Brit, that's how I spell it ) and from the beginning of development I have always said that I wanted to have really detailed customisation in the game and I've done just that. You can load your own weapon finishes (skins) based on UVW maps in .png format so they are easy to change. Additional to this you can load in your own 3D geometry too (slides, magazines, lowers, uppers) - but geometry loading is not 100% complete yet. This is all networked so any changes you make will be seen by everyone.

For those who don't want to go crazy with the customisation there are some built in colours that you can use or just leave your weapon with the standard factory finish.

Also I have been working on some generative audio, trying to make levels interact with the player more - this blends well with the upcoming level editor.

Next on my bucket list is to finish the in-game level editor...

Also, I will be launching a Kickstarter campaign (Again) early next year (20-2-2014) so any support will be greatly appreciated. All kickstarter funds will go directly into development.

I hope you enjoy it, I'm making this for all of you who wanted to see more games with this concept.

Nice to hear some updates, is there somewhere we can get the alpha or will it be released again with kickstarter?
i love games allowing native mod support, thx for that
and will there be a revolver?
i would ask for mouse gestures but i think i know the answer

Thomason1005 wrote:Nice to hear some updates, is there somewhere we can get the alpha or will it be released again with kickstarter?
i love games allowing native mod support, thx for that
and will there be a revolver?
i would ask for mouse gestures but i think i know the answer

The alpha will be released again with the Kickstarter.
No problem, I wouldn't play it if it didn't have mod support...

Hmm, I hope this answers your question

It is a reward for all backers, though it is strictly cosmetic and does not give the player any advantage. it comes in the standard factory & backer gold finishes.

Mouse gestures is something that I really like but I haven't got the time to implement with my current workload.

I played your (outdated) shooting range demo from indiedb 158 and there where some things i liked and others i felt odd about:
1. I don't like the ammo display next to the weapon, hope this is not in the final game since it would be kinda strange trying to achieve realism while still relying on an interface.
2. I think the mag release by pressing r+e to simulate unlocking and pulling out is good, but you should definitly add the ability to just dropping the mag (by gravity) to make a quicker reload possible.
3. OH GOD THE SOUND MY EARS HURT - pls consider this in further releases

Since it was only a small demo there not really anything more i could tell, but when I look at your goal I think you are maybe a bit overambitious:

Boolean wrote:Recently I've been working heavily on weapon customisation ( I'm a Brit, that's how I spell it ) and from the beginning of development I have always said that I wanted to have really detailed customisation in the game and I've done just that. You can load your own weapon finishes (skins) based on UVW maps in .png format so they are easy to change. Additional to this you can load in your own 3D geometry too (slides, magazines, lowers, uppers) - but geometry loading is not 100% complete yet. This is all networked so any changes you make will be seen by everyone.

What is the reallife purpose of customising a gun? One can truly be the looks, however this won't be a weapon you would really use in a warzone or anything like that - so the sole reason for customisation would be altering the weapons performance (e.g. shorten a barrel to ensure a good close quarters action). The big problem is, if the players are able to use their own 3D geometry, it not only makes your game more vulnerable for exploits, but it also is nothing more than a skin, which actually doesn't fulfill the purpose of altering the gun's performance, because this would in fact require scripting or at least for the purpose of laserpointers/muzzle flash different game sprites (like in good ol' 1.6). So while giving players a mod support is really nice, you should not forget, that skins are not a replacement for actual different items.
I admit that it is possible to actually give players the possiblity to built their own items (not skins!) even within the game of course in predefined parameters - however the approches from other games to this I have seen so far are pretty bad to say the least, because these were individual looking but considering the ingame effect generic.
The only thing what you can do to bypass this, would require to create an engine which takes not only bullet weight but also its velocity generated by all the different weapon parts into account for damage and penetration numbers and calculates e.g. the overall weight of the weapon (all single parts together) while reflecting this value on the player's behavoir like the time to sprint, the movement speed and even the ability to hold the weapon steady for an extended period of time. This would be very complex and even harder to balance.

I'll do my best to make this brief. The demo is very very very outdated - it has since been re designed and created from the ground up using a completely different approach which is more efficient.
There is no ammo display in the newer versions and the R+E combination has been changed to a single button release (too many people found it annoying)

In terms of customisation, believe me, the issues you raise are exactly the same questions I asked myself and I tasked myself at solving but when you take a while and think about it they are not as complex as you might think.

The whole system uses base statistics for weapon parts, take for example the Beretta - it has benefits over a Glock but both are equally balanced in performance. Each component has a performance weighting (barrel, magazine, overall weight, interoperability). An example of this in more detail is that the barrel of the Beretta allows the round to leave the muzzle at 0.011 and the Glock projects at 0.010 the balance comes in when you take the weight of the component into account - the Beretta barrel weighs more than the Glock barrel and contributes negatively to maneuverability resulting in a slower push-out to get a proper sight picture. This balancing act is performed with all components.

It is up to the player to choose if he wants to use the Glock barrel in their build or a Beretta barrel (Both operate with the 9mm cartridge, but differ in length statistically), the performance modifiers of the weapons can change but there is always balance, changing the geometry of the shorter barrel to make it longer will have no statistical impact on the weapons performance - the combination on how it is employed will.

The customisation never changes the base statistics of the weapons. Using different components together changes the overall performance of the weapon but by using certain parts you also make sacrifices. Trying to use a .45 cartridge with a 9mm Barrel is not going to benefit you much.

If the player decides to create a build using all of the best components their weapon will quickly malfunction. Weapon component customisation is a high-wire act. Weapon cosmetic customisation isn't.

Changing the geometry for the weapons is no more than a cosmetic change. I'm sure some people will want to create something like this...

Where it gets complicated is making sure that players can't create weapon components that are the size of cars by loading in for example... a CAR! Bounds are used for that. They will have a really funny looking gun though! and yes there are going to be some stupid looking guns. There are 'pure' servers to combat that.

There is a lot of balancing involved, too much to go into real detail about. I'll release the statistical information on the components after launch.

woa awesome dude, cant wait for it, you defenitely got my support if i dont forget it till then
mouse gestures would be really dope, id love to see that
what will be the weapon range in general? Handguns only? Schofield revolver? Peacemaker?
and i really liked the sprinting and aiming in receiver with this deadzone.
edit: now that i think about it,mouse controls could become really tricky if you want to keep the hands visible

Boolean wrote:It is up to the player to choose if he wants to use the Glock barrel in their build or a Beretta barrel (Both operate with the 9mm cartridge, but differ in length statistically), the performance modifiers of the weapons can change but there is always balance, changing the geometry of the shorter barrel to make it longer will have no statistical impact on the weapons performance - the combination on how it is employed will.

The customisation never changes the base statistics of the weapons. Using different components together changes the overall performance of the weapon but by using certain parts you also make sacrifices. Trying to use a .45 cartridge with a 9mm Barrel is not going to benefit you much.

Well I would totally agree on that and I admit, that the actual difference in velocity is not that high if we speak about barrel length (there precision would be a thing to discuss) of pistols, but this completly neglects the differences of cartriges within a certain caliber. For example a 9mm +P+ will behave way different than a 9mm JHP Hydra Shok - the maxium possible velocity is defined by the ammunition and the barrel length is all about how much of this potential is used. And to add even more controversy, if you compare different calibers why should I use a 9mm FMJ over a FN SS190 duty, which can penetrate up to a threat level IIIA armor, while the 9mm FMJ cannot? So will there be different types of armor in the game or not and if not, there are no reason to use AP ammunition over ones with a high stopping power or won't there be any different types of cartriges within the same caliber at all? So this must be considered and if there is different ammunition, than there must be some appeals why to actually use this or that type of bullets.

Changing the geometry for the weapons is no more than a cosmetic change. I'm sure some people will want to create something like this...

Wouldn't you agree that this "cosmetic change" would heavily affect the combat usability?

Where it gets complicated is making sure that players can't create weapon components that are the size of cars by loading in for example... a CAR!

I took me at least 5 minutes to figure out, that you don't meant the rifle type - gosh I need my coffee!

There is a lot of balancing involved, too much to go into real detail about.

I can imagine the difficulties and while there must be always some kind of simplicity in a game, a real handgun consists of 40 to 80 parts, some are of course negligible (outer screws at handguard for instances), but e.g. the handguard itself isn't and this would lead pretty quickly to the need to define materials of a gun (wood or plastic when talking about the handguad now) and again there must be appeals to use a wooden handguard over a tactical one and these are difficult to create.

So don't understand my texts as critisim towards your project, but more as some kind of general thoughts concerning the topic. Of course I hope that this game actually becomes awsome 'cause I think this would really bring fresh air to the old multiplayer fps.

I find it so amazing and exciting to have seen an early, simple demo some time ago, then suddenly looking at a polished and updated game! It's looking real good, totally going to help that Kickstarter.

Retarded Username wrote:I find it so amazing and exciting to have seen an early, simple demo some time ago, then suddenly looking at a polished and updated game! It's looking real good, totally going to help that Kickstarter.

Glad to have you on board! It has come a long way from its humble roots so keep spreading the word about the Kickstarter

The material you provided looks really good, but a video of the main screen isn't that helpful after all. I'd recommend on providing more gameplay material, even if it's just beta/alpha. Also the demo is horrid and keeps on crashing to the main screen for me, so I'd rather recommend taking it down or providing a clean one. But overall very promising

Im not the one making the game, but the alpha is a year old and theres kickstarter launch on 20-3-2014 an then therell be new alphas for backers.
hes refining the game atm and making a kickstarter video i think